Railway-switch.



PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905.

J. P. BARKLEY.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED snmxu. 1905.

65% 1 ,Banffag,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed September 11,1906. Serial No. 277,806.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. BARKLEY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

1 This invention relates to railway-switches, more particularly to that class known as safety-switches.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective automatic mechanism whereby a train approaching a facing switch set for the siding will automatically set the switch for the main line when it is not desired that the approaching train. should take the siding.

The invention also has for its further objects the provision of certain advantageous features in switches of this character, which features will be hereinafter more particularly referred to.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a structure embodying my invention in one form. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same, taken on the line 02 a: of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view, partly in section, of the tripping-lever.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates the mainline rails, and 2 a rail of the siding, the movable switch rails or points being indicated at 3.

The form of switch illustrated is a split switch, being the approved type now in general use, and the switch-rails 3 are connected by the usual connecting-bars 4, so as to move in unison. The hand-operated mechanism by which the switch-rails are moved comprises a switch-bar 5, connected with the switch-rails near their free ends and extending laterally beyond the track at one side, its extended end being provided with a pin or projection 6,

which engages a slot in a hand-lever 7, which is the switch-lever, by means of which the switch is thrown by hand. In order to provide against accidental displacement of the switch, I employ a locking mechanism, which comprises a gravity locking bolt or pawl 8, free to slide vertically in guideways 9 and so arranged that its lower end is normally in engagement with notches 10, formed between teeth or serrations 11 on the upper side of the switch-bar 5. The teeth or serrations 11 are vertical on one side and inclined on the other, the arrangement being such that the lockingbolt 8 will be lifted when the switch-rails are moved to their main-line position, while the locking-bolt will hold them positively against movement toward their siding position unless said bolt be disengaged. To effect this disengagement, I employ a lever 12, pivoted between its ends at 13 on a housing 14, which incloses the locking-bolt 8 and its cooperating mechanism. This lever is pivoted at one end to the bolt 8, while its other end is in convenient reach of the operator when he stands in position to operate the switch 7 so that when it is desired to throw the switch to siding position the bolt 8 may be readily disengaged by depressing the exposed end of the lever 13, whereupon the switch-lever? may be so moved as to throw the switch as desired.

In order to automatically operate the switch so as to throw it to main-line position when approached by a main-line train in a direction such that the switch is a facing switch, I provide the following mechanism: 15 inclicates a horizontal disk mounted on a suitable bearing 16 and inclosed in a suitable housing 17. This disk is connected by a rod 18 with the switch-bar-5, said rod 18 being pivoted at one end to the switch-bar, as indicated at 19, while its other end is eccentrically pivoted to the disk 15, as indicated at 20. 21 indicates a second connecting-rod, one end of which is eccentrically pivoted to the disk 15, as indicated at 22. The rod 21 extends along the track on the facing side of the switch a suflicient distance and has its end pivoted to a lever 23, as indicated at 24. The lever 23 is mounted at the side of the track, closely adjacent to one of the rails, its fulcrum or pivot being indicated at 25 and being located at the lower end of the lever. At its upper end the lever 3 is provided with a tripping latch or dog 26, pivoted between its ends, as indicated at 27, in a slot or recess 28 in the body of the lever 23. This slot or recess has on one side of it a stop 29, so that while the latch or dog 26 is free to spring in one direction independently of the lever the lever moves in unison with the latch in the opposite direction. The latch is arranged in the path of a projection 30, carried by the locomotive, preferably upon its pilot 31. The lever 23 and its associated parts are preferably inclosed in a housing 32, which supports the pivot or fulcrum 23 of the contact with the stop 29 the dog and lever will be thrown over in the direction of movement of the approaching train. This movement of the lever 23 will be communicated through the rod 21 to the disk 15, which will be given a partial revolution. The connecting-rod 18, through its connection with the disk 15 and switch-bar 5, will move the switchbar in a direction toward the right in Fig. 2, the locking-bolt 8 yielding to permit this movement in the manner previously described. This movement of the switch-bar 5 will throw the switch-rails 3 to main-line position, in which position they will be held locked by the bolt 8. The approaching train will therefore find the switch set for the main line and will proceed along the main line without taking the siding. It will therefore be seen that in case the switch is accidentally or otherwise set for the siding when it should be set for the main line all danger of an approaching train entering the siding when it should not is avoided. It will be understood that trains moving in an opposite direction from that previously assumed will in no wise effect the automatic switch mechanism, since the operating projection 30 will in that case strike the dog or latch 26 on its opposite side, so that it will be free to turn independently of the lever 23, and the latter will not be moved. In case it is desired that the train shall take the siding at the switch the switch may be thrown by hand after the projection 30 has passed the lever 27, or the projection 30 may be made movable, so that it may be withdrawn to a position such that it will not actuate the lever 23.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise details of construction hereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, as it is obvious that these details may be modified without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-switch, the combination, with main-line and siding rails, and switchrails moving in unison, of a track-lever actuated in one direction only by the train, a member oscillating around a vertical axis, a rod connecting the track lever and oscillating member, a rod connecting the oscillating member and switch-rails, and means for locking the switch rails against movement from main-line position, said locking means yielding to form the switch-rails to move in the opposite direction when the track-lever is actuated, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination, with main-line and siding rails, and switchrails moving in unison, of a switch-bar connected with said switch-rails, said switch-bar being provided with notches having inclined and vertical walls, a gravity locking-bolt normall y engaging said notches, means for disengaging said locking-bolt, a hand switch-lever connected with said switch bar to manually operate the same, a track-lever actuated by the train in one direction only, an oscillating member, and rods connecting said oscillating member with the track-lever and switch-bar, substantially as described.

3. In a railway-switch, the combination, with main-line and siding rails, and switchrails moving in unison, of an oscillating member connected with said switch-rails to actuate the same, and a track-lever operatively connected with said oscillating member, said track-lever being pivotally mounted on ahorizontal axis adjacent to the track and havinga slot provided with a stop at one side thereof, and a tripping latch or dog pivoted to said track-lever between its ends, having its lower end located in said slot, and its upper end located in the path of a train projection, substantially as described.

4. In a railway-switch, the combination, with main-line and siding rails, and switchrails moving in unison, of a track-lever actuated by the train, a housing located at the switch-points, below the rails, and provided with a bearing, a horizontal disk supported by said bearing in said housing, a rod connecting the track-lever and disk, a switch-bar connecting the switch-rails, and a rod connecting said switch-bar and disk, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-switch, the combination, with main-line and siding rails, switch-rails moving in unison, and means for automatically operating said switch-rails from siding to main-line position, of a switch-bar connected with the switch-rails, the end of said switchbar being provided with locking-notches and an operating pin or projection, a housing inclosing said end of the switch-bar and provided with guideways, a locking-bolt sliding by gravity in said guideways, a lever con nected with said locking-bolt to actuate the same, and a lever connected with the switchbar projection to actuate the switch-bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. BARKLEY. Witnesses E. O. HAGAN, IRVINE MILLER. 

